It may not be easy to join LIV Golf, but now it’s a little easier than it used to be.
The team golf league has thrown its door a little wider ahead of the 2026 season and is bringing its qualifying tournament to one of the global homes of golf’s dreamers: Central Florida.
LIV Promotions will host a four-round event from January 8-11 at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Fla. – a three-part property that is billed as “Not Your Typical Florida Golf.” The competition will award full status to the first two winners; IN last year’s qualifying event only the winner gained the status.
In years past, LIV’s qualifying school was hosted in Dubai and Saudi Arabia, far from the hotbed of minor league golf talent that is the American South. Now, given the additional qualifying spot and tournament placement, it would be fair to expect a higher level of competition; the event, which attracted 93 players in 2024, has also expanded from 54 holes to 72.
The tournament will be played over four days, with the highest-ranked players earning a bye on the second or third day.
In addition to a more fluid qualifying event, LIV is also doubling the number of seats available in the International Serieswhich ends at the end of this month. Two players not already banned from LIV will earn full status for 2026 based on their year-long performances in the seven International Series events, the last two of which take place in November.
Regardless of why LIV is opening its door wider, the move is no doubt indicative of the specific era the tournament is in. No progress has been reported for the Saudi PIF (LIV’s owner) in reaching an investment deal with the PGA Tour, and there has been little public movement in the way of recruiting top-level talent.
The league excelled in its first few seasons not only by bringing in top players, but also by generating speculation about which PGA Tour players can to join So far in 2025, there has been very little buzz, although we are still three months away from the start of the 2026 season. A lot can still happen, as it did in 2023 when Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton joined the league, the same season that Anthony Kim made his splashy return.
